[AnnieA]

Pythons likely wiping out Glades mammals, new study finds - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/30/2615810/python-likely-wiping-out-glades.html - broken link)

very interesting and scary article. I love how people have poopooed the magnitute of the problem with the pythons.....

In a Central Fl news article this week, it was stated that the ban on the sale of exotic animals was not really the be all, end all, that it was made out to be. I will have to find out the reason why when I russell up the article. The fellow that wrote it is the State of Florida Wildlife go to person around here. He says there is nothing to stop them from going north, at this time, and they will.....

By the way, it wouldn't let me copy any of the text of this article to paste here......

[Clint.]

I heard a story about this today while listening to the On Point radio show. It's sickening. This is just the latest in troubled history of human interference (or lack of proactive protections) destructive to the Everglades ecosystem. Shameful, absolutely shameful.

[Crane's Rooster]

They have captured wild pythons as far north as here in Central Florida. It just scares me thinking that I could walk outside and run into one of these big boys. I know how to deal with native threats but if I saw a python...well I just wouldn't know what to do.

[doggiebus]

It is scary, someone found a 13-foot Burmese python in South Miami Dade in Palmetto Bay Christmas Day which is far from the Everglades. So you just don't know where these things will be. Iguanas, snakes and now we have these giant snails that can kill people. I really wish they would put an import ban on all these things or at least have a mandatory microchip placed in them, so if they are found wild the owners can be fined. I know they just banned a few snakes from import, which hopefully that will help some.

What we need is a few Arctic blasts like we did last year which I know killed a bunch of these things, but that isn't looking likely this warm winter.

[Chelito23]

Hey Doggiebus,

Nice to see you in the General Florida forum!

Remember, we have always head wintery outbreaks, and that never has eliminated the populations. The iguanas died back, but many of them have adapted and now stay in the water during cold spells or burrow and find "warm" spots. The pythons have done the same. The problem is, our cold snaps aren't frequent or severe enough to erradicate these invasive species...

This is essentially the new normal. There isn't much that can be done about the problem other than from adding new exotics into the mix. With the extensive network of canals, many exotics have a "freeway" to the urban or rural areas of the state....

[theredsnowman]

Does anybody know if it legal for random individuals to kill pythons in the Everglades?

[rnc2mbfl]

The bad news is that recent research also suggests that pythons can survive in salt water environments for enough time to extend their reach beyond the fresh water of the Everglades. YIKES!!! I guess I am not going to take up paddle boarding on Biscayne Bay anytime soon.

[rnc2mbfl]

I have an idea, let's start an "Extreme Hunting" sport where fearless hunters descend on the Everglades with lassos, machetes and guns. I'm sure that we can get some crazy people to join and MTV to put it on the air. :-)

[theredsnowman]

Originally Posted by rnc2mbfl

I have an idea, let's start an "Extreme Hunting" sport where fearless hunters descend on the Everglades with lassos, machetes and guns. I'm sure that we can get some crazy people to join and MTV to put it on the air. :-)

We need to declare war on snake breeders and people who keep snakes as pets. For instance, if you are aware that your neighbor has a snake, you need to break into their home and kill the snake.

[Crane's Rooster]

Just keep an open hunting season on them allowing people to get license to trap or hunt the pythons. I'm sure there are some boot makers out there that will pay good money for a python skin. Anytime you throw profit into the mix people seem to find ways to eradicate that certain species pretty quickly.